While a neighbor was admiring our new A/S he asked if I was going to lock the coupler. I had thought about getting a lock, but wasn't sure what was available. I stopped by a local trailer (not A/S or TT) dealer he had one or two that were close fits but none seemed to be secure (no pun intended).

Friends: I'm the Devil's advocate here. Why spend $700 for LoJack protection? Why spend hundreds of dollars for locks and boots? Except for a simple and inexpensive hitch lock, why not use insurance, back-up files and records to protect our property? Are many stolen RVs recovered? Would you want it back if yours were recovered, although stripped and gutted? In short, we spend hundreds of dollars a month to insure our homes, cars and campers. Isn't enough enough? Best wishes, John

Looking at the Guardian G-37 in the above photo, it seems to me you could accomplish the same thing by inserting a hitch ball into the coupler and then locking the hitch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by c177tx

Better cut the shank off or they will just use the hitch ball you just provided them...

Hi, the big difference is, if the coupler latch lock is cut or broken off, the ball will fall out. Also, you can drive out the coupler latch handle roll pin to bypass the latch lock. The Guardian G-37 gives them another obstacle to deal with. The latch lock by it'self won't help; I remove my coupler lock [leaving the latch lock in place] and use a 2" ball to move my trailer forward in my driveway to work on it.

Better cut the shank off or they will just use the hitch ball you just provided them...

We added a ball after seeing the post Robertsunrus made, in another thread on the topic, about dropping his trailer down on a 2" ball. I torqued the nut and lock washer on the shank - not sure how they could use that as it just spins in the socket. I suppose you could get a pipe wrench on the lip and then a ball wrench on the nut.

I also added a hidden cut off switch to the jack but then... we see the trailer stolen in TX where they knew enough to pop the jack cover and use the manual crank. Then there's Andy's post - never crossed my mind....

To me, I'm just trying to stop the casual thief. A lo jack style system and the boot may be the ultimate.

Friends: I'm the Devil's advocate here. Why spend $700 for LoJack protection? Why spend hundreds of dollars for locks and boots? Except for a simple and inexpensive hitch lock, why not use insurance, back-up files and records to protect our property? Are many stolen RVs recovered? Would you want it back if yours were recovered, although stripped and gutted? In short, we spend hundreds of dollars a month to insure our homes, cars and campers. Isn't enough enough? Best wishes, John

I definitely intend to carry insurance when I own an Airstream. However, many of the people on this forum can't really insure all that they have. Someone with a 40-year-old trailer who's put a lot of work and money into restoring and/or modifying it to their tastes and to reliable, always-usable condition may not be able to insure it for enough to go out and buy a roughly equivalent trailer.

Is there the classic-Airstream equivalent of classic-car insurance? And if there is, does it come with all the same restrictions? When I had my '71 Skylark Convertible, I had it insured on a classic policy that was quite affordable and covered the real value of the car (rather than the scrap value that KBB or Edmunds would suggest.) However, it included some constraints on how I could use the car and how many miles I could put on it in a year.

So, I think that both insurance and reasonable theft deterrence would work together to increase peace of mind.

What theives want least is to be slowed in their process of Stealing anything. The more challenges you put in place the slower they are and have a greater chance of being discovered. Hitch locks, tongue ball locks, chains thru and between the wheels and even boots all contribute. BUT the reality is IF THEY REALLY WANT IT,YA CANT STOP EM. Cause they come equipped to handle anything. Just do the best ya can.